western england
Amesbury in Wiltshire confirmed as oldest UK settlement
Amesbury – including Stonehenge – is the UK’s longest continually-occupied settlementContinue reading the main story
Related Stories
- English ‘beat French to frogs legs’
- Dig ‘could explain’ Stonehenge past
- Iron age tunic thaws out of ice
Amesbury, including Stonehenge, has been continually occupied since 8820BC, experts have found.
The news was confirmed following an archaeological dig which also unearthed evidence of frogs’ legs being eaten in Britain 8,000 years before France.
Amesbury’s place in history has also now been recognised by the Guinness Book of Records.
David Jacques, from the University of Buckingham, said: “The site blows the lid off the Neolithic Revolution in a number of ways.
Continue reading the main story
Historic Wiltshire
- Stonehenge: Wiltshire’s most famous historic site built 2500BC
- Avebury: Stone circle is thought to date back 4,000 years
- Silbury Hill: Europe’s largest artificial prehistoric mound
- West Kennet Long Barrow: One of the largest Neolithic chambered tombs in Britain
- Westbury White Horse: Cut in the hillside in the 16th Century
“The area was clearly a hub point for people to come to from many miles away, and in many ways was a forerunner for what later went on at Stonehenge itself.
“The first monuments at Stonehenge were built by these people. For years people have been asking why is Stonehenge where it is, now at last, we have found the answers.”
Mr Jacques said the River Avon, which runs through the area, would have been like an A road with people travelling along it.
“They may have had the equivalent of local guides and there would have been feasting,” he added.
“We have found remains of big game animals, such as aurochs and red deer, and an enormous amount of burnt flint from their feasting fires.”
The dig unearthed the largest haul of worked flints from the Mesolithic periodPreviously, Thatcham in Berkshire, 40 miles from Amesbury, held the record for the longest continuous settlement in the country.
The dig in Amesbury also uncovered 31,000 worked flints in 40 days as well as animal bones such as frogs’ legs.
Mr Jacques said our ancestors were eating a “Heston Blumenthal-style menu”.
Continue reading the main story
Amesbury facts
- Queen Eleanor of Provence – consort to Henry III – is buried at the town’s former abbey
- Amesbury residents get a free visitors’ pass to Stonehenge each year
- In 1965, the Beatles stayed at the Antrobus Arms Hotel whilst filming Help!
- The area’s most famous resident – Police frontman Sting – lives in nearby Wilsford cum Lake
Andy Rhind-Tutt, the founder of Amesbury Museum and Heritage Trust, said there was “something unique and rather special about the area” to keep people there from the end of the Ice Age, to when Stonehenge was created and until today.
“The fact that the feasting of large animals and the discovery of a relatively constant temperature spring sitting alongside the River Avon, may well be it,” he said.
The dig was filmed and made into a documentary by the BBC, Smithsonian, CBC and others to be screened later in the summer.
The project was led by the University of Buckingham.
Related Stories
- English ‘beat French to frogs legs’ 15 OCTOBER 2013, WILTSHIRE
- Dig ‘could explain’ Stonehenge past 12 OCTOBER 2013, WILTSHIRE
- Iron age tunic thaws out of ice 29 AUGUST 2013, SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT
From other news sites
Daily Express UK’s OLDEST town revealed: Amesbury dates back more than TEN millenia 14 hrs ago
Guardian.co.uk Britain’s oldest settlement is Amesbury not Thatcham, say scientists 15 hrs ago
Telegraph Stonehenge discovery rewrites history books 16 hrs ago
Wiltshire Gazette and Herald Britain’s oldest town is in Wiltshire, say archaeologists 18 hrs ago
Western Daily Press Amesbury named oldest UK settlement 19 hrs ago
- About these results
Related Internet links
- English Heritage: Stonehenge
- Facebook: Amesbury Museum & Heritage Centre
- Twitter: Amesbury Museum
- Buckingham University
Around the BBC
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external Internet sitesShare this page
broadcast nationwide from Monday, 29 April at 20:30 BST on BBC Four.western england
Related Stories
- Stonehenge general manager sought 20 APRIL 2013, UK
- Amesbury clues to Stonehenge’s pastWatch 19 APRIL 2013, ENGLAND
Around the BBC
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites
Share this page